Federal mediators Thursday scheduled more contract talks between Delta Air Lines and its pilots union, holding off the start of a strike countdown.

        Following a Washington, D.C., meeting to discuss the status of negotiations, airline and union officials said talks will resume Monday at the request of the National Mediation Board.

        The meeting was the first between pilots and management since Feb. 28, when the 9,700-member union and the nation's No. 3 carrier jointly asked mediators for a proffer of arbitration. A proffer is an offer to have a third party draw up a binding contract.

        Delta operates its second-largest hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where about 1,000 Delta pilots are based.

        Mediators did not issue the proffer Thursday, instead choosing to negotiate further. Calls to the mediation board went unreturned Thursday.

        “We look forward to constructive and conclusive talks that will result in a mutually beneficial settlement,” Delta spokeswoman Cindi Kurczewski said.

        If either the pilots or the company declined such an offer, the mediation board would then release both parties to a 30-day cooling off period — at the end of which the pilots legally could strike.

        “The goal is not to strike, it's to get a contract,” said union spokeswoman Karen Miller. “We'll see if management is ready to come to the table ready to negotiate without the proffer.”

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